Many residents in Texas complain that the auto insurance premiums are expensive in 2011. Why is car insurance so expensive for Houston, Dallas and San Antonio drivers in 2011? In this article, we will do simple research to find out the truth behind the car insurance premiums for Texas drivers.
Is it true that car insurance is expensive in Texas? It is true, as the average annual auto insurance premium for a Texas driver was $1,292 in February 2011, according to the Carinsurance.com Premium Index. This price means a Texas driver will have to pay a total of $64,600 in his or her 50-year driving life. But compared to other states in the U.S., car insurance in Texas is not expensive at all. In the first two months of 2011, each Texas resident should pay an average of $1,273 for annual car insurance, 11.1 percent lower than the national average. Other sources have different numbers. But they all show that the average auto insurance premium for Texas drivers is cheaper than that for drivers in most of other states.
Why is car insurance so expensive for Texas drivers in 2011?
But why do many Texas-based drivers have to pay much higher car insurance rates than the average above? We all know that at least six elements determine the auto insurance rates in a city. They include wages, liability coverage requirements, traffic density, repair costs, auto insurance laws, and car theft rates.
We know that the cities with high traffic density in Texas include Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, El Paso, Fort Worth, Arlington, Corpus Christi, Plano and Garland. Higher traffic density statistically means higher car accident rates and more insurance claims. As a result, people in these cities should pay higher insurance premiums. On the other hand, insurance companies in these cities may need higher gross profits and higher insurance rates to pay higher wages for their employees. According to the Carinusrance.com Premium Index, residents in these cities could pay over 100 percent higher premiums than drivers in other smaller Texas cities. For example, the average annual auto insurance premium in Houston was $2,784 in 2009.
Car theft rates will also determine the insurance premiums. In most of the cities in Texas, Honda cars, Chevrolet cars and pickups, and Ford cars and pickups are the most stolen vehicles. As a result, the owners of these vehicles will have to pay higher insurance rates than the average.
How to get a cheaper car insurance rate in Texas?
The car insurance rates will also depend on many other factors, such as a driver’s age, driving records, house ownership, state policies, and even gender. There are many insurance companies providing instant and free online insurance quotes for Texas-based drivers. I have tested the services and found out they are very similar. The insurers will tell you as many discounts as possible to beat their online competitors. But don’t forget to include your partner in the same policy if he or she is also the driver of this vehicle. This can prevent a claim from being denied when your partner has an accident with this vehicle.
The good news is that the average car insurance premium in Texas declined by about 21 percent in the last seven months. If this trend continues, you will get cheaper insurance premiums in Texas in the next few months.
Chen Nanyang - Chen Nanyang's journalist career began in 2002 when he started writing for China's Nanfang City News, Singapore's United Morning Post and ...
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